


Snow

by HotaruGFC (JaclynGFC)



Series: Snapshots: Inktober 2019 prompts [8]
Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Brothers, Gen, Inktober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 20:44:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21203828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaclynGFC/pseuds/HotaruGFC
Summary: A look at young Baro and Neige





	Snow

The young boy sat quietly in the snow. He hadn't known what he had done, but his brother had kicked him out of the hovel they called home. And so he sat, crying, as the snow fell lightly around him. He could still hear his brother raging inside and was partly thankful he was not in the way of his brother's fists or his brother's mud magic. His brother scared him when he was this angry. And so, the boy sat as the snow collected around him. He took some of the soft frozen snowfall and packed it together into a small ball. Once he set the ball down, he created another ball and then another. He stacked them one on top of the other, ignoring the chill in his small body and the numbness in his fingertips. 

"Hello, friend." He whispered to the small figure of snow he had built. The small figure moved and looked up at him. He giggled and clapped as it looked at the stubby arms he had given it. The figure seemed to smile up at him. 

"You will be my friend, won't you?" 

The figure looked at him in curiosity. The boy felt a flutter of fear as he waited for a response, hoping against hope the snow creature could tell what he wanted and needed most. After a moment, the figure looked down at the ground and the boy felt his hopes and dreams fall until the new being began to shift toward him. 

"Oh!" The boy cried out as the figure moved. "I can't believe I forgot." He picked up the snowman ever so gently in one hand and balled some of the snow in the other into two tiny oval shapes. He stuck the shapes on the bottom of the snowman's body and placed it down once more on the ground. The figure looked down at its new feet and wriggled its toes--first on one foot, then on the other. It seemed to consider the motion carefully. Satisfied, the figure looked up at the boy and smiled before shuffling toward him, more steadily this time.

The boy's heart soared. 

"Should we make some more friends?" He made the snowfall more heavily with the simple magic he could use. He scooped the newly fallen snow and went to work, still not understanding how the little creature had come to life in the first place.

After several minutes, he was surrounded by friends made of snow. Each one was unique, made of different shapes and sizes. Each wore a different expression on its face. 

And yet, none of them moved.

The small figure next to him tilted its head toward him. It seemed to ask what was wrong, or at least that's what he thought it was thinking.

"I don't know. I don't know how you woke up."

An icy touch on his hand made the boy look down at the figure. Its tiny, nubby hands patted his in an effort to reassure him.

The boy took a deep breath. 

"I'll figure it out." He nodded to himself and the snowman patted him once more. He reached out for one of the lifeless snow beings, wondering if he could will it to life with his touch.

"Hey, Neige!" The voice echoed off the walls of the buildings nearby. The boy froze for a moment as a larger boy with dark hair scurried around the corner of a building. The larger boy skid to a halt, but slipped and fell as he hit the patch of snow.

"Neige, what are you doing? Making all this snow is dangerous." The larger boy stood up brushing the white dust from his pants. 

"You... you smooshed them." Neige could not help the tears welling up in his eyes or the sob teetering in his voice. "Baro, you... you smooshed them all." He looked around at the misshapen lumps of snow scattered around him and the deep gouge left by his brother. He gasped and looked down at where the small snowman had been. It has been right next to him, patting him encouragingly on the leg as he had built. He could still see remnants of its tiny body lying still among the snow. As he picked up the bits of his friend, he could no longer hold back.

The tears were hot, like lava across his frigid skin. He wailed as they fell on what remained of the tiny snowman, melting it further with their heat.

"Neige..." Baro sighed, his annoyance turning to pity. He sat on the cold wet ground across from his brother. "I'm sorry, Neige. I didn't mean to."   
Neige sniffed as he tried to get control of his tears.

"Here." 

Neige looked up to see a different small figure thrust toward him--a peace offering of sorts. The mud man didn't move, and it was goopy and sloppy, but when Neige looked up at his brother's face, all he saw was remorse.

Neige wiped the back of his hand against his nose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He reached out for the mud figure and gently touched its face. 

"Thanks, Baro." He took the mud man into his own hands. He wondered if Baro had ever made his mud move as his snow friend had moved. Maybe, he thought, I will ask him one day.


End file.
